Paramount Theatre

The name belongs to a company that never ran the place. Paramount's Publix chain commissioned Timothy Pflueger's theatre, then sold it unfinished to Fox West Coast, which kept the name and opened it in December 1931. Within months the Depression closed it, and it reopened in 1933 showing films alone, the stage shows and orchestra gone. Movies ended in 1970. Balking at some $13 million for a new arts center, Oakland's civic leaders had the symphony association buy the Paramount in 1972 for $1 million instead; restored, it went to the city in 1975 for a dollar.

What the plaque says

Paramount Theatre This is a superior rendering of the "Art Deco," or "Moderne" style of movie palace built during the rise of the motion picture industry. The Paramount, which opened on December 16, 1931, is the most ambitious theatre design of architect Timothy L. Pflueger. Restored in 1973, it has retained an exceptional unity of style. California Registered Historical Landmark No. 884 Plaque placed by the State Department of Parks and Recreation in cooperation with the Theatre Historical Society, December 16, 1976.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Muir Woods National Monument — 17 mi
  A redwood canyon saved from a reservoir by a gift, and named for a man who had been there once.
• Muir Beach Overlook — 18 mi
  A cliff edge on Highway 1, and the concrete dugouts where two-man crews watched the sea after Pearl Harbor.

More markers nearby

• Site of College of California — 0.5 mi
• First Unitarian Church of Oakland — 0.5 mi
• Pardee Home — 0.6 mi
• Site of Saint Mary's College — 0.8 mi